Chesapeake Executive Council sets new path for bay conservation efforts in 2025
MARYLAND – A new directive set out by the Chesapeake Executive Council seeks to chart the course of Bay conservation in the future.
Council Issues Directive to Form Agricultural Advisory Committee
Tuesday, Council members announced the creation of an Agricultural Advisory Committee, which will focus on putting farmers at the center of conservation efforts.
“We have to continue to work with the agriculture community to accomplish our water quality goals through these voluntary approaches that allow our farmers to make conservation improvements while maintaining the viability of their businesses,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.).
Martha Shimkin, Director of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program Office, said addressing agricultural runoff and stormwater management remains a top priority.
“The just-established Agriculture Advisory Committee is an important step toward scaling up and targeting solutions,” Shimkin said.
Other goals set out by the Council on Tuesday included revising the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and streamlining the Chesapeake Bay Program’s partnership structure. Shimkin said the EPA worked with the Chesapeake Bay Commission to draw up a 29-member committee, tasked with collecting ideas from hundreds of community stakeholders.
States Not on Track to Meet 2025 Goals
However, the governors of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, as well as the Secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) shared at Tuesday’s meeting that previously set benchmarks for bay conservation and pollution reduction in 2025 will not be met.
Governor Wes Moore (D-Md.), Chairman of the Council, said the effects of climate change are complicating each aspect of bay recovery efforts. Gov. Youngkin called the goals unrealistic, the plan unclear and funding inadequate.
The leaders expressed that clarifying the bay’s conservation plans and bringing farmers to the center of those efforts will prove crucial for everyone involved given the importance of the bay for the regional economy, and to ensure it thrives for generations to come.
“The [Chesapeake] Bay region generates more than $5 billion in annual tourism-related activity. The Bay fisheries produce more than $500 million of income for more than 30,000 fishermen,” Gov. Moore said.
Delaware Leans into Best Management Practices
In Delaware, DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin said the state is continuing to work toward its commitments to pollution reduction.
“[The state is using] new programs that prioritize best management practices,” Secretary Garvin said.
The Delaware Community Conservation Assistance Program has helped encourage urban landowners, homeowners associations, and community spaces to implement projects aimed at improving water quality, the Secretary said. He added the Tree For Every Delawarean program has made great strides in installing forest and grass buffers.
Secretary Garvin said the state is working with non-profit groups like ShoreRivers, the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance, and Delaware Wild Lands to get the work done.
“Working with these groups, we can make impactful changes in some of the most challenging, underserved and high-priority areas in our portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed,” Secretary Garvin said.
Shallow Water Habitats in Maryland’s Spotlight
Meanwhile, Gov. Moore said Maryland is also adjusting its implementation strategies.
The Governor added that the focus on shallow water habitats, and promoting community buy-in, are two mainstays of the new plan.
“We are making sure that the Chesapeake Bay goals are focused on people and communities that are most directly impacted… If people feel a sense of ownership, they will also understand their responsibility to do the work and serve as protectors,” Gov. Moore said.
Pennsylvania Identifies Problem Spots
Pennsylvania is also working hard to address environmental concerns related to the Chesapeake Bay, said Governor Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.).
Gov. Shapiro said the state has invested about $1 billion in Chesapeake Bay conservation efforts since 2019. The Governor added agricultural runoff has been reduced by 6 million pounds, 834 miles of forest buffer along rivers and streams have been restored—representing more than half of all buffers planted in the watershed—as improvements have been made in water quality in more than 100 miles of streams that same time frame.
Gov. Shapiro said the state has worked to identify problem spots on local waterways, engage with state stakeholders to do community clean-ups, and brought farmers into the conversation.
“We’ve helped our agricultural producers invest in more sustainable infrastructure that keeps chemicals out of our waterways while creating a more prosperous agricultural center,” Gov. Shapiro said.
Focus on Farmers in Virginia
And in Virginia, Gov. Youngkin said his administration has continued to focus on ways the commonwealth can do its part in Chesapeake Bay stewardship.
Since 2022, Gov. Youngkin said the Virginia General Assembly has offered historic funding for such efforts, adding the commonwealth’s agricultural needs assessment has been fully funded each year since 2022.
“These efforts have resulted in record nitrogen reduction from the agricultural sector in 2023, as well as an increased participation in the Virginia Agricultural Cost Share program,” Gov. Youngkin said, adding the program saw 574 new participants by the end of Fiscal Year 2024.
Gov. Youngkin added substantial investments and improvements have been made in the area of blue crab abundance and oyster restoration, as well as establishing protected lands. Looking ahead, the Governor added Virginia leaders are working on longer-term, more comprehensive strategies to support watermen.
More Information
To read the Council’s Agricultural Advisory Committee directive, click here. For more information about the Council’s charge to the principal’s staff committee, click here.
